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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. last — final
  3. lean — to bend
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. last — finally
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. lean — thin
  11. ground — crushed
  12. stem — to come from
  13. current — electric
  14. ground — the earth
  15. last — to go on
  16. ground — a position
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. current — happening now
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. foot — a measure
  23. track — a song
  24. current — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com